The 27 Nakshatras of Vedic Astrology: A Complete Guide

A nakshatra is a 13°20' arc of the sidereal zodiac. There are 27 of them, named after the prominent fixed stars or asterisms in each section. Together they cover the full 360° of the zodiac.

Where the 12 signs (rashis) are a coarse partition based on the Sun's annual path, the 27 nakshatras are a finer partition that follows the Moon's monthly cycle — the Moon spends about a day in each. They are the older of the two systems in the Indian astronomical tradition; the rashi system was adopted later from Hellenistic sources, while the nakshatra system is found in the earliest Vedic literature.

Nakshatras are the foundation of:

• Vimshottari Dasha — the starting Mahadasha is determined by the natal Moon's nakshatra.
• Muhurta (electional astrology) — auspicious moments are timed against the Moon's nakshatra.
• Naming ceremonies (namakarana) — traditional Indian names often start with the syllable assigned to the birth nakshatra-pada.
• Compatibility — Ashtakoot Guna Milan uses nakshatra-based scoring.

Each nakshatra has:

• A name (e.g., Ashwini, Rohini, Anuradha).
• A presiding deity (e.g., Ashwini Kumaras for Ashwini, Brahma for Rohini, Mitra for Anuradha).
• A planetary lord, in the fixed Vimshottari order: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — repeated three times across the 27.
• A symbol or yantra (Ashwini = horse's head, Rohini = chariot, etc.).
• A gana (devic, manushya, or rakshasa — divine, human, or demonic temperament).
• A nadi (vata, pitta, or kapha — Ayurvedic constitution).
• A guna (sattva, rajas, or tamas).
• 4 padas (quarters), each 3°20', mapped to 9 sub-signs (the navamsa division).

These attributes are used in compatibility, naming, dasha, and predictive work.

The full list, with sign coverage and Vimshottari lord. Each nakshatra spans 13°20'.

1. Ashwini (0°-13°20' Aries) — lord Ketu, deity Ashwini Kumaras, symbol horse's head. 2. Bharani (13°20'-26°40' Aries) — lord Venus, deity Yama, symbol yoni. 3. Krittika (26°40' Aries-10° Taurus) — lord Sun, deity Agni, symbol blade. 4. Rohini (10°-23°20' Taurus) — lord Moon, deity Brahma, symbol chariot. 5. Mrigashira (23°20' Taurus-6°40' Gemini) — lord Mars, deity Soma, symbol deer's head. 6. Ardra (6°40'-20° Gemini) — lord Rahu, deity Rudra, symbol teardrop. 7. Punarvasu (20° Gemini-3°20' Cancer) — lord Jupiter, deity Aditi, symbol bow and quiver. 8. Pushya (3°20'-16°40' Cancer) — lord Saturn, deity Brihaspati, symbol cow's udder. 9. Ashlesha (16°40'-30° Cancer) — lord Mercury, deity Nagas, symbol coiled serpent. 10. Magha (0°-13°20' Leo) — lord Ketu, deity Pitris, symbol throne. 11. Purva Phalguni (13°20'-26°40' Leo) — lord Venus, deity Bhaga, symbol front of bed. 12. Uttara Phalguni (26°40' Leo-10° Virgo) — lord Sun, deity Aryaman, symbol back of bed. 13. Hasta (10°-23°20' Virgo) — lord Moon, deity Savitr, symbol hand. 14. Chitra (23°20' Virgo-6°40' Libra) — lord Mars, deity Tvashtr, symbol bright jewel. 15. Swati (6°40'-20° Libra) — lord Rahu, deity Vayu, symbol young plant in wind. 16. Vishakha (20° Libra-3°20' Scorpio) — lord Jupiter, deity Indra-Agni, symbol triumphal arch. 17. Anuradha (3°20'-16°40' Scorpio) — lord Saturn, deity Mitra, symbol lotus. 18. Jyeshtha (16°40'-30° Scorpio) — lord Mercury, deity Indra, symbol earring. 19. Mula (0°-13°20' Sagittarius) — lord Ketu, deity Nirriti, symbol root or tied roots. 20. Purva Ashadha (13°20'-26°40' Sagittarius) — lord Venus, deity Apas, symbol fan or winnowing basket. 21. Uttara Ashadha (26°40' Sagittarius-10° Capricorn) — lord Sun, deity Vishvedevas, symbol elephant tusk. 22. Shravana (10°-23°20' Capricorn) — lord Moon, deity Vishnu, symbol three footprints. 23. Dhanishta (23°20' Capricorn-6°40' Aquarius) — lord Mars, deity Vasus, symbol drum. 24. Shatabhisha (6°40'-20° Aquarius) — lord Rahu, deity Varuna, symbol empty circle. 25. Purva Bhadrapada (20° Aquarius-3°20' Pisces) — lord Jupiter, deity Aja Ekapada, symbol two-faced man. 26. Uttara Bhadrapada (3°20'-16°40' Pisces) — lord Saturn, deity Ahirbudhnya, symbol twins or back legs of cot. 27. Revati (16°40'-30° Pisces) — lord Mercury, deity Pushan, symbol fish.

Each nakshatra has 4 padas of 3°20' each. The four padas of all 27 nakshatras together produce 108 sectors — and each sector maps to one of the 12 signs of the navamsa (D9) chart, in a fixed sequence that ties the nakshatra system to the divisional chart system.

In practice, padas are used for:

• Naming ceremonies — each pada has assigned phonetic syllables traditionally used as the first syllable of a child's name.
• Compatibility — the gana, nadi, and yoni attributes are pada-specific.
• Dasha progression — the proportion of a starting Mahadasha that has elapsed at birth is calculated to the pada.
• Pada-level interpretation — readers experienced with nakshatras often add a pada-flavour to a planetary placement.

Jyothish AI labels the natal Moon's nakshatra and pada in every chart you generate.

The starting Mahadasha is determined by the natal Moon's nakshatra. The full sequence is:

Ketu (Ashwini, Magha, Mula) → Venus (Bharani, Purva Phalguni, Purva Ashadha) → Sun (Krittika, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha) → Moon (Rohini, Hasta, Shravana) → Mars (Mrigashira, Chitra, Dhanishta) → Rahu (Ardra, Swati, Shatabhisha) → Jupiter (Punarvasu, Vishakha, Purva Bhadrapada) → Saturn (Pushya, Anuradha, Uttara Bhadrapada) → Mercury (Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Revati).

The duration of the starting Mahadasha is proportional to how much of the natal nakshatra remains to be traversed. If you were born when the Moon was 25% into Pushya, you have 75% of the 19-year Saturn Mahadasha remaining at birth — about 14.25 years of Saturn before the 17-year Mercury Mahadasha begins.

This is why two siblings born minutes apart but in different padas can have radically different Vimshottari sequences. Every chart is unique to its nakshatra-pada.

Indian matchmaking uses an 8-fold (ashtakoot) system, scored out of 36, that is largely based on nakshatra attributes:

• Varna (1 point) — caste-class compatibility.
• Vashya (2 points) — the natural authority each holds over the other.
• Tara (3 points) — astrological auspiciousness, computed from the count between the two natal nakshatras.
• Yoni (4 points) — animal symbol, indicating sexual and constitutional compatibility.
• Graha Maitri (5 points) — friendship of the two natal Moon-sign lords.
• Gana (6 points) — devic-manushya-rakshasa temperament compatibility.
• Bhakoot (7 points) — sign-distance compatibility between the two Moons.
• Nadi (8 points) — pulse / Ayurvedic constitution. The most heavily weighted, because shared nadi is read as a longevity and reproductive risk.

A score of 18 or higher is considered acceptable for marriage; 24+ is good; 28+ is excellent. Below 18 is usually flagged for a deeper read or for rectification.

Jyothish AI's Compatibility tab runs the full Ashtakoot match plus a Mars-specific compatibility score plus a Navamsa overlay.